Managing Information Systems Case Study Ch. 9-Thl

Dawn Ruedy Case Study Ch. 9 THL 1. A. The benefits of having policy determined by rules rather than computer codes is the application programs in the Aurora system access and process the business rules when deciding vehicle availability. With rules being arranged and easy to use, an analyst is able to alter reservation policies without technical support from personnel. B. Some consequences of an incorrect rule being entered are blocking the correct vehicle from being rented, incorrect recommendations by renting the wrong vehicle in the wrong location.As a result, business analysts may be unable to help customers. These mistakes could end up being very expensive for THL, costing them revenue by not being able to provide their customers with the correct services. Unfortunately, this could also throw future reports off that THL depends on. Some of these reports include vehicles that are to be checked out and returned to each rental location, which vehicles need to be transferred to a di fferent location and which ones need maintenance. C. If I managed the reservation system at THL, I would use the Expert systems process for the modification of rules.By applying the If/Then rules and processing those rules to make a diagnosis or recommendation, decision making would be improved by the nonexperts by encoding, saving and processing expert knowledge. 2. A. The value $3,697 is the total of the car rental brands Maui ($1,577) and Britz ($2,121) in Australia in April of 2005. $1,577 is the dollar amount spent on the Maui car rental package in Australia in 2005 and $2,121 is the dollar amount spent on the Britz car rental package. B. The Britz package is more popular package than the Maui package in Australia.THL is making no money on the Backpacker and Explore More packages. New Zealand rentals are more profitable. C. If the first column (geographic area) was switched with the third column (brand), I think on the left AU and NZ would be seen. Then, to the right would be t he amounts for each of the 4 packages and the totals. 3. Customer Reservation Data: A. Report Applications-which package was the most profitable and how much it was requested by customers. B. Market-basket analysis-which products could be purchased together C.Unsupervised data mining-review the data and observe the results, Cluster analysis D. Supervised data mining-predict when repeat customers will return- E. I like D the best, because it helps bring repeat customers back, C is good too because it describes who their customers are. I would then choose A to understand customers and how they should advertise. Last, I would choose B. 4. A. I choose California to have the best chance at success in the United States. California offers a variety of activities including beaches, Disneyland, national parks, mountains and wineries.California is a larger state with a variety of climates and sunshine. Market size would be larger than the other options, which I would assume means a better eco nomy and more money to spend. B. THL’s competitive advantage is their experience in this tourism area, having operations internationally. C. THL’s competitive vulnerabilities include figuring out their clients and how to approach the market and competition. D. The online reservation system adds value to the new operations by its easy to use functions and convenience for customers.E. Since THL headquarters will be so far away from the new US business, building a trusting relationship with customers may become a problem. Not having any face to face relationship building. Of course, this can be remedied with video chatting and new technology. 5. With the use of social media and their website using webcams, THL can see what their clients are saying about their customer service and if they are satisfied. Which will then help THL make improvements to their services and products.